Initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a point of sale system

• US 8,983,862 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2008
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Canada, Tracy M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARIKH, HARSHAD R
• Application Number:
  US12/022,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20090192815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,603 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16, 705/9
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a POS system, the POS system having a POS controller domains, the POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider, that include: detecting, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, a hardware error within the POS controller domain, the hardware error described by hardware error data; notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data; generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

Claims

1. A method of initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the method comprising;

receiving, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, an error message which specifies an error code;

determining, by the POS operating system, based on the error code and an error code table, that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, wherein the error code table associates error codes with indications of whether the error specified by the error code is a hardware error or a software error;

in response to determining that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, detecting, by a POS operating system, the hardware error within a POS terminal controller domain, by polling hardware components of the POS controller domain for hardware error data, wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component of the POS controller domain that is generating the hardware error;

wherein the POS controller aggregates and administers POS transaction data received from and provided to each of the POS terminals in the POS controller domain controlled by the POS controller;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

6. A Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) controller for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a POS system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the POS controller comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions, that when executed by the computer processor, cause the computer processor to carry out the steps of;

receiving, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, an error message which specifies an error code;

determining, by the POS operating system, based on the error code and an error code table, that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, wherein the error code table associates error codes with indications of whether the error specified by the error code is a hardware error or a software error;

in response to determining that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, detecting, by a POS operating system, the hardware error within a POS terminal controller domain, by polling hardware components of the POS controller domain for hardware error data, wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component of the POS controller domain that is generating the hardware error;

wherein the POS controller aggregates and administers POS transaction data received from and provided to each of the POS terminals in the POS controller domain controlled by the POS controller;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

7. The POS controller of claim 6 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

8. The POS controller of claim 6 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

9. The POS controller of claim 6 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

10. The POS controller of claim 6 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.

11. A computer program product for initiating a service call for a hardware malfunction in a Point Of Sale (‘

POS’

) system, the POS system having one or more POS controller domains, each POS controller domain composed of a POS controller and one or more POS terminals, the POS controller operatively coupled to a service dispatcher for a hardware service provider through a data communications connection, the computer program product disposed in a computer readable recordable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions, that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the steps of;

receiving, by a POS operating system installed on the POS controller, an error message which specifies an error code;

determining, by the POS operating system, based on the error code and an error code table, that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, wherein the error code table associates error codes with indications of whether the error specified by the error code is a hardware error or a software error;

in response to determining that the malfunction in the POS controller domain is a hardware error, detecting, by a POS operating system, the hardware error within a POS terminal controller domain, by polling hardware components of the POS controller domain for hardware error data, wherein the hardware error data specifies a particular hardware component of the POS controller domain that is generating the hardware error;

wherein the POS controller aggregates and administers POS transaction data received from and provided to each of the POS terminals in the POS controller domain controlled by the POS controller;

notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data;

generating, by the POS operating system, a service request message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

transferring, by the POS operating system, the service request message to the service dispatcher, the service dispatcher initiating a service call by the hardware service provider.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises recording the hardware error data for the detected error in an error log.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, an on-site system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises displaying the hardware error data for the detected error on a user interface of an administrative console.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein notifying, by the POS operating system, a system administrator of the detected hardware error in dependence upon the hardware error data further comprises:

generating an administrative error notification message in dependence upon the hardware error data; and

displaying the administrative error notification message on a user interface of an administrative console.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the hardware error data only specifies generally that the hardware error occurred without specifying any particular hardware component generating the hardware error.